100+ Free IB History SL Practice Questions

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The Enabling Act of March 1933 gave Hitler the power to do which of the following?

Pass laws without Reichstag approval for four years

Dissolve the German army

Sign a permanent peace with the USSR

Restore the Kaiser to the throne

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Key Facts: IB History SL Exam

1-7

IB grading scale per subject

IBO Diploma Programme

30/45/25

Paper 1 / Paper 2 / IA weighting (%)

IB History guide

150 hours

Standard Level guided learning hours

IBO subject brief

100

Free practice questions here

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IB History SL is graded 1-7 with Paper 1 worth 30%, Paper 2 worth 45%, and the Internal Assessment worth 25%. Students sit one source-based paper plus a two-essay paper across 2 hours 30 minutes in the May or November session.

Sample IB History SL Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your IB History SL exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Which event in January 1933 marked the formal beginning of Nazi rule in Germany?

A.Hitler's appointment as Chancellor by President Hindenburg

B.The Reichstag Fire

C.The Enabling Act

D.The Night of the Long Knives

Explanation: On 30 January 1933, President Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany. The Reichstag Fire (February) and the Enabling Act (March) followed and were used to consolidate, not establish, Nazi power.

2The Night of the Long Knives in June 1934 primarily eliminated which group?

A.The leadership of the SA (Sturmabteilung), including Ernst Rohm

B.The leadership of the Communist Party (KPD)

C.Jewish business owners in Berlin

D.Catholic bishops who opposed the regime

Explanation: On 30 June 1934 Hitler ordered the SS to murder the SA leadership, including its chief Ernst Rohm. This purge removed a paramilitary rival, reassured the army, and consolidated Hitler's personal power.

3How did Stalin consolidate his position as Lenin's successor between 1924 and 1929?

A.By outmanoeuvring Trotsky and the left and right oppositions through factional alliances

B.By winning a popular nationwide election against Trotsky

C.By leading the Red Army to victory in the Russian Civil War

D.By signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany

Explanation: Stalin used his post as General Secretary to build patronage and shift alliances, first joining Zinoviev and Kamenev against Trotsky, then siding with Bukharin against the left, then turning on Bukharin. By 1929 Trotsky was exiled and Stalin dominated the Politburo.

4Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China in which year?

A.1949

B.1945

C.1934

D.1937

Explanation: Mao proclaimed the People's Republic of China from Tiananmen Square on 1 October 1949, following the Communist victory over the Nationalists (Guomindang) in the Chinese Civil War.

5Fidel Castro overthrew which Cuban leader on 1 January 1959?

A.Fulgencio Batista

B.Gerardo Machado

C.Carlos Prio Socarras

D.Anastasio Somoza

Explanation: Castro's 26th of July Movement forced the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista to flee Havana on 1 January 1959, ending more than six years of Batista's second period in power.

6Mussolini came to power in October 1922 after which event?

A.The March on Rome

B.The Matteotti Crisis

C.The Lateran Pacts

D.The invasion of Abyssinia

Explanation: Following the Fascist March on Rome on 28 October 1922, King Victor Emmanuel III refused to declare martial law and instead invited Mussolini to form a government, making him Prime Minister.

7Stalin's Great Terror reached its peak in which years?

A.1936-1938

B.1924-1927

C.1941-1945

D.1953-1956

Explanation: The Great Terror or Yezhovshchina peaked between 1936 and 1938, with show trials of Old Bolsheviks (Zinoviev, Kamenev, Bukharin), mass NKVD arrests, and a purge of the Red Army officer corps.

8Which secret police organisation served Nazi Germany?

A.The Gestapo

B.The NKVD

C.The Stasi

D.The SAVAK

Explanation: The Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei) was the secret state police of Nazi Germany, founded in 1933 and led from 1936 by Heinrich Himmler as part of the SS, suppressing political opposition.

9Stalin's First Five-Year Plan, launched in 1928, focused primarily on which goal?

A.Rapid heavy industrialisation and collectivisation of agriculture

B.Expanding consumer goods and improving living standards

C.Privatising land and encouraging small farms

D.Reducing state control over the economy

Explanation: The First Five-Year Plan (1928-32) prioritised heavy industry such as steel, coal, and tractors and forced peasants into collective farms (kolkhozes), abandoning Lenin's New Economic Policy.

10Mao's Great Leap Forward (1958-62) is best characterised by which outcome?

A.A man-made famine that killed tens of millions of peasants

B.A successful doubling of Chinese steel production by 1960

C.The establishment of constitutional democracy in China

D.A peaceful agricultural modernisation programme

Explanation: The Great Leap Forward forced collectivisation into giant communes and backyard furnaces. Disastrous grain quotas, falsified output figures, and poor harvests caused a famine that killed an estimated 30-45 million people between 1959 and 1961.

About the IB History SL Exam

IB History SL is a Standard Level subject in the IB Diploma Programme assessing students through two written papers and an internal assessment. Paper 1 is a source-based exercise on one prescribed subject, Paper 2 requires two essays from selected World History topics, and the Internal Assessment is a 2,200-word historical investigation.

Questions

100 scored questions

Time Limit

2 hours 30 minutes total written exam time (Paper 1 60 min + Paper 2 90 min)

Passing Score

Grade 4 is widely accepted as a pass; full DP requires 24+ points total (1-7 scale per subject)

Exam Fee

Set by school; IBO subject registration fee approx $119 USD per exam (International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO))

IB History SL Exam Content Outline

25%

Authoritarian states (20th century)

Conditions for rise (Hitler 1933, Stalin 1924-29, Mao 1949, Castro 1959, Mussolini 1922), consolidation through propaganda, secret police, and purges, and economic and social aims

25%

Causes and effects of 20th-century wars

WWI MAIN causes and 1914 outbreak, WWII causes from Versailles to appeasement, course of both wars, plus Korea 1950-53, Vietnam, Iran-Iraq 1980-88, and the Gulf War 1990-91

25%

The Cold War: Superpower tensions and rivalries

Origins at Yalta and Potsdam, Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, Berlin and Cuban crises, detente, Gorbachev reforms, end of the USSR 1991, and proxy conflicts

15%

Independence movements / Decolonisation

Indian independence and partition 1947, African decolonisation (Ghana, Kenya, Algeria), Vietnamese independence, and the Cuban Revolution

10%

Rights and protest

US Civil Rights from Brown 1954 to Voting Rights Act 1965, key leaders and groups, and the apartheid struggle in South Africa from Sharpeville 1960 to the 1994 elections

How to Pass the IB History SL Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: Grade 4 is widely accepted as a pass; full DP requires 24+ points total (1-7 scale per subject)
Exam length: 100 questions
Time limit: 2 hours 30 minutes total written exam time (Paper 1 60 min + Paper 2 90 min)
Exam fee: Set by school; IBO subject registration fee approx $119 USD per exam

Keys to Passing

Complete 500+ practice questions
Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
Focus on highest-weighted sections
Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

IB History SL Study Tips from Top Performers

1Practice OPCVL (Origin, Purpose, Content, Value, Limitations) on every Paper 1 source — examiners reward consistent structured analysis

2Memorise specific dates, names, statistics, and treaties — vague essays cap at the mid-mark band

3Build comparison essays for Paper 2 by pairing two leaders or two wars side by side (e.g. Hitler vs Stalin, WWI vs WWII causes)

4Read past examiner reports on the IBO programme resource centre to spot recurring command-term and content errors

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the format of IB History SL?

IB History SL has Paper 1 (1 hour, source-based, 30%), Paper 2 (1 hour 30 minutes, two essays on World History topics, 45%), and an Internal Assessment historical investigation of around 2,200 words worth 25%.

When are IB History exams taken?

IB exams are sat in two annual sessions: May (Northern Hemisphere schools) and November (Southern Hemisphere schools). Results are released in early July and early January respectively.

How is IB History SL graded?

Each IB subject is graded on a 1-7 scale, where 7 is the highest. Grade 4 is widely treated as a pass, and the full Diploma requires at least 24 points across six subjects plus core requirements.

What is the difference between IB History SL and HL?

SL and HL students sit the same Paper 1 and Paper 2. HL students additionally sit Paper 3, a 2 hour 30 minute regional in-depth study (Africa, Americas, Asia/Oceania, or Europe) worth 35%.

100+ Free IB History SL Practice Questions

IB History SL